Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Partially or completely lacking in the sense of hearing.
- adjective Of or relating to the Deaf or their culture.
- adjective Unwilling or refusing to listen; heedless.
- noun Deaf people considered as a group. Used with the.
- noun The community of deaf people who use American Sign Language as a primary means of communication. Used with the.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Lacking the sense of hearing; insensible to sounds.
- Unable to hear, or to hear clearly, in consequence of some defect or obstruction in the organs of hearing; defective in ability to perceive or discriminate sounds; dull of hearing: as, a deaf man; to be deaf in one ear.
- Refusing to listen or to hear; unwilling to regard or give heed; unmoved or unpersuaded; insensible: as, deaf to entreaty; deaf to all argument or reason.
- Lacking sharpness or clearness; dull; stifled; obscurely heard; confused.
- Numb.
- Barren; sterile; blasted: as, deaf land; deaf corn.
- To make deaf; deprive of hearing; deafen; stun with noise.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb obsolete To deafen.
- adjective Wanting the sense of hearing, either wholly or in part; unable to perceive sounds; hard of hearing.
- adjective Unwilling to hear or listen; determinedly inattentive; regardless; not to be persuaded as to facts, argument, or exhortation; -- with
to . - adjective Deprived of the power of hearing; deafened.
- adjective rare Obscurely heard; stifled; deadened.
- adjective Obs. or Prov. Eng. Decayed; tasteless; dead
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Not having the faculty of
hearing , or only partially able to hear. - noun Deaf people considered as a group.
- verb obsolete, transitive To
deafen .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (usually followed by `to') unwilling or refusing to pay heed
- adjective lacking or deprived of the sense of hearing wholly or in part
- noun people who have severe hearing impairments
- verb make or render deaf
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Nothing personal, but the term deaf-mute is way, way out of style.
Judge to Immigrant Mothers: Learn English or Lose Your Kids 2005
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But I think theawesomerobot's point about iPods for the deaf is a good one.
Is Sony legally required to make its games accessible to disabled people? - Boing Boing 2009
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He felt the ridicule which was attached to the mute character of the Legislative Body, which he called his deaf and dumb assembly.
Complete Project Gutenberg Collection of Memoirs of Napoleon Various
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The temptation to discuss, solely in the light of Helen Keller, the whole matter of educating the deaf is a dangerous one, and one which I have not taken particular care to avoid, because my opinions are of no authority and I have merely tried to suggest problems and reinforce some of the main ideas expressed by Miss Sullivan, who is an authority.
The Story of My Life Annie Sullivan 1905
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He felt the ridicule which was attached to the mute character of the Legislative Body, which he called his deaf and dumb assembly.
The Memoirs of Napoleon Bourrienne, Louis Antoine Fauvelet de 1836
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He felt the ridicule which was attached to the mute character of the Legislative Body, which he called his deaf and dumb assembly.
Memoirs of Napoleon — Volume 06 Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne 1801
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He felt the ridicule which was attached to the mute character of the Legislative Body, which he called his deaf and dumb assembly.
Memoirs of Napoleon — Complete Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourrienne 1801
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A teacher of the deaf cannot lose sight of the fact that in the term deaf, or deaf-mute, there are included at least four sub-classes, namely, the semi-mutes, who have lost their hearing after they had acquired more or less perfectly the use of language; the semi-deaf, who retain some power of hearing, but yet cannot attend with profit schools for hearing children; the congenitally deaf, possessing some ability to perceive sound; and the totally deaf from birth, who are unable to perceive sound.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5: Diocese-Fathers of Mercy 1840-1916 1913
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Via MeFi, where an interesting discussion about opposition in deaf communities to cochlear implants ensues.
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Via MeFi, where an interesting discussion about opposition in deaf communities to cochlear implants ensues.
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